Unique ancient wooden churches of Karelia

If you want to see the ancient Russian architecture, namely churches and chapels, then you should go to Karelia. This area is often called (as well as Finland, with which it borders) the country has thousands of lakes — there are more than 90 thousand lakes in total on the territory of the republic, and many Orthodox churches are scattered among them.

Since ancient times, people have lived on these beautiful lands and built unique wooden churches. Thanks to blogger Alexey Kulikov, we can take a good look at the buildings in the photos.

The village of Shcheleyki is located in the Leningrad region, but very close to the Karelian border. Here is the wooden church of Dmitry the Myrrh-streaming (Solunsky), built in 1783. There is silence around. It seems that their own footsteps are about to be heard. Sometimes the clouds break and the sun comes out.

It is also impossible to pass the neighboring village of Gimreka, mentioned at the end of the XV century.

The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built between 1659 and 1695 and renovated in the 1970s. Then they dismantled the sheathing and restored both porches.

Along with stone protruding rocks, boulders and a harsh forest, this kind of view seems to be the first thing that comes to mind when talking about Karelia.

45 km from Petrozavodsk is the city of Kondopoga with a collapsing 42-meter Assumption Church. The temple built in 1774 stands on the shore of the Kondopoga Bay of Lake Onega and is quite a famous tourist destination.

Until the XX century, there was a winter church of the Nativity of the Virgin (1857) and a tent bell tower (XVIII century) nearby, but they did not survive the Soviet government.

These pillars with branches are a symbol of the mythological world tree.

Most of the icons are decorated with towels.

The Church of Peter and Paul of the XVII century is the main decoration of the ancient Pomeranian village of Virma.

The ancient village of Manga is located in Pryazhinsky National District. It has been known since 1563. The image of the local chapel of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary got into the book "Russia. A complete geographical description of our Fatherland", published at the beginning of the XX century under the editorship of Veniamin Petrovich Semenov-Tyan-Shansky.

The chapel was built in the XVIII century, but was subsequently repaired. Traces of restoration are still visible today.

Chapel of St. John the Theologian of the XVIII century.

The chapel has an interesting entrance.